This Is Redbridge

YES WE CAN! Redbridge launches bid to be London Borough of Culture

Redbridge's community groups, businesses, schools, libraries, partners and the council are joining forces to back Redbridge's bid to be London Borough of Culture.

The Borough of Culture Award is organised by the Mayor of London and the prize is a million pounds to stage a programme of world-class events and an opportunity to put arts, heritage and culture at the heart of Redbridge’s future. London’s leading cultural institutions including The Tate, Shakespeare’s Globe, London Mela and Film London, have said they will partner on projects with the winning borough.

The bid, which has been named This Is Redbridge, was officially launched by the leader of the Council at an event at Redbridge Drama Centre. With the submission deadline of 1st December approaching fast, the race is on to gather residents' ideas and build a bid that will capture the judges' imaginations and win the contest.

Community groups and individual residents can submit their ideas for Redbridge’s bid to be London Borough of Culture via the new website: www.thisisredbridge.org. They can also connect with the bid via social media and join in a series of community workshops.

Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, says:“This is a huge opportunity for Redbridge. It’s a chance to shine a spotlight on the borough. A chance to tell our stories and celebrate our special places. A chance to show that the sum of our diverse communities is so much greater than its parts. It’s a unique opportunity to show London and the world: This Is Redbridge.”

Our borough is a treasure trove of hidden stories and cultural gems and there’s already huge local support for the bid. I think people can see that this is an opportunity to do something special and create a legacy of culture at the heart of our borough’s future.”

In February 2018, two winning boroughs will be named London Borough of Culture, with one taking up the title in 2019 and the other in 2020. An additional £600,000 is available for up to six boroughs for exemplary projects.

Engage with the Campaign on social media: follow @thiisredbridge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Campaign hashtag is #thisisredbridge and the London Borough of Culture hashtag is #mylocalculture